The good wife

Alicia Florrick, mother of two teenagers, is a humiliated woman. Her husband Peter, the State Attorney in Chicago, has been involved in a sexual scandal and is now in jail for a presumption of fraud. Despite everything, she supports her husband and faces the situation with dignity. Forced to find work after fifteen years away from the profession, she returned to practicing law. Will Gardner, an old friend from college hires her at his firm. But Alicia has to start at the bottom again. She is on probation for six months, along with an ambitious young lawyer, Cary Agos. Only one of them will be hired permanently.

Whether involved in high-profile trials or arguing pro bono cases, Alicia handles every case with the utmost care. She is assisted by the firm’s investigator, Kalinda Sharma, whose methods are sometimes questionable but always highly effective. Fraud, industrial espionage, copyright and privacy rights, theft, and murder—Alicia immerses herself in her work and handles one case after another. What troubles her most is that the flame of feelings between her and Will, twenty years after their brief relationship, does not seem to have been extinguished.

Judicial investigations

Clearly, it is the cases presented in each episode that sustain interest in the series. Viewers observe the lawyers’ strategies and follow the investigation into each case. Lawyers first rely on the facts, which they seek to understand as thoroughly as possible. Then, they choose to present those that are favorable to them, and use cunning and sometimes creativity to defend their client. Facing them, the State Attorney’s teams or rival firms employ the same tactics.

Admittedly, the story unfolding in the background is well done (Alicia’s career and love life, her husband’s political career). But despite a lot of colorful characters —such as Eli Gold and his daughter Marissa, Kalinda, the judges and many others— I found it difficult to warm to Alicia and her circle of privileged friends.

For a non-American, delving into the US judicial system is surprising. In France, for example, lawyers are not allowed to investigate. It is not possible to settle criminal cases out of court; a trial must always take place. Each country will thus find differences that reflect national cultures.

The Good Wife is a series whose cases are fascinating even if you’re not a big fan of law. A sequel was made, “the good fight”, with several actresses.

7 seasons, 156 episodes (45 mn), 2009-2016, on CBS and Amazon Prime Video

Created by Robert and Michelle King, Produced by Riddley and Tony Scott, WITH :

• LAWYERS : Julianna Margulies as Alicia Florrick, Matt Czuchry as Cary Agos, Archie Panjabi (The fall, Departure) as Kalinda Sharma, Christine Baranski as Diane Lockhart, Josh Charles as Will Gardner (s. 1-5), Zach Grenier as David Lee, Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Jason Crouse (season 7), Cush Jumbo as Lucca Quinn (s. 7), Michael Boatman as Julius Cain, Carrie Preston as Elsbeth Tascioni, Michael J. Fox as Louis Canning, Jerry Adler as Howard Lyman
• ATTORNEY’s team : Chris Noth as Peter Florrick, Matthew Goode (A discovery of witches, Dept. Q) as Finley “Finn” Polmar (s. 5-6), Renée Elise Goldsberry as Geneva Pine, Chris Butler as Matan Brody, Titus Welliver as Glenn Childs
• JUDGES : Denis O’Hare as Charles Abernathy, David Paymer as Richard Cuesta, David Fonteno as Robert Parks, Christopher McDonald (Hacks) as Don Schakowsky, Kurt Fuler as Peter Dunaway
• CLIENTS (recurrent) : Mike Colter as Lemond Bishop, Dylan Baker as Colin Sweeney
• FAMILY and OTHERS : Graham Phillips as Zachary “Zach” Florrick, Makenzie Vega as Grace Florrick, Mary Beth Peil as Jackie Florrick, Alan Cumming as Eli Gold, Sarah Steele as Marissa Gold, Gary Cole as Kurt McVeigh, Jill Flint as Lana Delaney, Dallas Roberts as Owen Cavanaugh, America Ferrera as Natahlie Flores, Nathan Lane (Only murders in the building) as Clarke Hayden (s. 4), Margo Martindale (The sticky) as Ruth Eastman (s. 7)